In recent years, increasing awareness and concern with the importance of physical health of our society has generated important, rapidly growing businesses concerned with physical fitness. Many people, particularly business executives having sedentary, tension-filled jobs, have been advised by their doctor to pursue a regular program of physical exercise. Gymnasiums, athletic clubs, and health studios are available to provide instruction and equipment for exercising; however, these facilities are often expensive and inconvenient. Busy executives are frequently unable to maintain a regular visitation schedule to an exercise club, and soon lose the routine of daily exercise. When the habit of regular exercise disappears, the executive usually finds that no exercises at all are being performed.
For many people, maintenance of a regular exercise schedule requires that the exercise be performed at home. A wide variety of home exercise devices have been developed. However, these devices generally do not have the capability of carrying out a large number of different exercises, as do the equipment at commercial gymnasiums, nor are they built to withstand heavy, frequent use. For example, Kulkens, U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,941 discloses a device for performing bench presses with an adjustably biased lever arm. Kane, U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,644, discloses a similar device which may be used for presses, pulls, or chin-ups. However, these devices are quite cumbersome and are better suited for use in an athletic club than in a home. In addition, neither allows a full complement of exercises.
A number of smaller exercise devices more suitable for home use are also known. Delinger, U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,748 discloses an adjustable exercise board allowing a variety of situp-type exercises. Lloyd, U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,666 discloses a portable gymnasium comprising a foldable, adjustable slantboard having spring-loaded pulley cables for performing various arm and leg exercises. A similar device is shown in Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,487. Kulkens, U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,717 also shows a multiple purpose apparatus providing for a plurality of spring-biased push-pull exercises. However, none of these devices allow the bench presses or pulls which most athletes consider essential to an exercise routine. In addition, although multi-functional and relatively portable, these devices are not built to withstand continual heavy usage of the type normally experienced in a commercial exercise facility.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a versatile exercise apparatus which is heavy duty but is still easily storable and usable in the home.
It is a further object of the invention to provide apparatus which is simple and inexpensive to build, but which is quickly and easily adjustable to perform a wide variety of heavy exercises.
It is a further object of the invention to provide apparatus for various weightlifting exercises against a bias which is selectively either constant or increasing in resistance.